Cogswell Polytechnical College - Cogswell Yearbook (San Francisco, CA)

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THE cooswELL 57 command. I had made several trips with her and had experienced no inci- dents more exciting than the happenings that usually occur. g On my fifth voyage, in addition to the usual shipments of silk, tea, etc., I was consigned a shipment of Chinese pyrotechnics. I had always had a dislike of shipments of explosives, but a captain cannot choose his cargo, so I reluctantly accepted the consignment and set sail for San Fran- cisco with none too light a heart. Everything went well until the fifth day out. 'lfhen things com- menced to happen, and quickly at that. .-X typhoon broke upon us. llefore everything could be made ship- shape halt of the cargo was shifted out of place. 'l'heu the ship refused to steer right, because of a decided list to the starboard. While the boatswain was restoring the cargo a crate slipped and broke his leg. The ship pitched about so much that some of the Chinese crew mutinied because they were afraid of the shifting cargo. Some of the plates on the starboard were sprung and all the pumps had to be run full force to keep the ship out of danger. The crew was left short-handed after the mutineers were put in irons and the oliicers had to do double duty. The Neptune was a good ship, otherwise she would never have weath- ered, that storm, but finally the waves subsided and gave us an opportunity to recover. IVe must have been a nautical joke. All of the rigging was gone and the ship listed more than is considered proper for a self-respecting vessel. On the whole I think the ship looked more like a derelict than the Neptune which had left I-Iongkong. After seeing that everything was in good running order, I lay down to get a few hours' rest-the first in over sixty hours. I had just gone to sleep when a steward came to my cabin and said that the first officer desired my presence on deck. I went on deck to see what could be the cause of my being disturbed. As I stepped on deck I saw a sight that for a second made my heart stop beating-from one of the hatches a thin spiral of smoke was issuing, I then knew that I had to battle against that which nautical men fear so much-a tire at sea. 0fHcer Campbell came forward to make his report: 'Fire has been discovered in coal bunker No. 7, sir. I have ordered all hatches closed and water is being played on bunker No. 9, so as to prevent the fire from spreading. I-Iave you any further commands, sir? I ordered him to take command and to call a hre drill to instruct the crew in case the condition of the tire should become dangerous and to keep me informed as to the condition of affairs. An hour later Officer Campbell reported that the intake valve of the high pressure pumps had been clogged, thus rendering our fire apparatus useless. I commanded him to see that the damage was repaired as quickly as possible and in the meantime to make the hold airtight. A few minutes later the chief engineer reported that it would take at least twelve hours to repair the pump. Then I knew that my ship was in serious danger. When I' went on deck I found that the ire had gained so much strength

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55 THE COGSWELL You knew what he was when I first went after the Society Bufs1Hf?,' No! lNhen did you last see him P Three years ago. He must go! Come on. - nlack, jack, dear, you can't! Youill break my heart! My brother in a prison! Oh, it would be terrible! And look how it would hurt dad. He wouldn't be elected. People would say he was crooked. And think of me! A sister to a burglarli' and she threw her arms around IaCk'S 116614 21115 looked eagerly into his eyes. His arm went around her waist. jack was puzzled. Wfhat should he do? As he looked into her beautiful eyes he tightened his grip. She fascinated him. He loved her beyond everything. Should he give her up after he had been working for three years to win her, or should he do his duty? His mind was in a whirl. Sud- denly he released his arm from her waist. He had decided. 'fCome onf' he said sternly, and he marched the Society Burglar out of the room amidst the cries and pleas of his sweetheart. CARLETON BRYAN, 'l4. il 4 211 er 1511111 Glzmfmr Ihr Glhinga Zflhat Arr Glzizaarli' UI contend that position amounts to everything, whether it is in a game of billiards, sailing a ship or being a herof' I looked up to discover the reason of the rather sudden announcement of this philosophy on the part of my uncle, otherwise known as Captain R. F. Harding, formerly with the Inter-Oceanic Steamship Company, but now retired. Discovering him in the act of clipping the end of one of his choice I-Iavanas, I calmly laid aside my book and proceeded to make myself com- fortable during the story which I knew was forthcoming. 'fD1d I ever tell you about the heroism of First Officer Campbell of the Neptune? asked my uncle. As a matter of routine I answered negatively. IfVell, I'll tell you about it. You may think that it should be stated differently. If you do, just set it equal to my first statement and you will have a perfectly balanced equation. if -S l Q . . A few yeais before you were born I was in command of the Good ship 1 . 6 Neptune, which plied between San Francisco and the Orient In those days she was one of the largest and finest steam vessels afloat. She was equipped with watertight bulkheads and many other improvements, which most vessels didnot have at that time. Naturally, I was very proud of my

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58 THE COGSWELL that the heat could be felt through my shoes when T walked across the deck in the vicinity of the burning coal bunkers. T then ordered the bulk- heads closed and the bunkers Hooded. Wfithin five minutes Officer Camp- bell returned with the report that the cargo had been so poorly stowed away that some of the bulkheads were blockaded and could not be closed. That made the situation more complicated, because the shipment of explo- sives was next to bunker No. 9 and the fire had already spread to the latter bunker. 'With the bulkhead closed the seacocks to the bunkers could be opened and thus the fire could be drowned out. Officer Campbell and his men worked bravely and succeeded in closing all the bulkheads 'except one, but the indicator in the pilot house showed that the remaining bulkhead was the one which separated the burning bunkers and the part of the cargo which consisted chiefly of explosives. That one bulkhead had to be closed or all would be lost, for if once the fire got to the explosives it would simply destroy the ship. Officer Campbell declared that there was nothing to do but abandon the ship, because no man could close the open bulkhead and survive. I had almost decided to accept that view when T noticed a young seaman waiting to speak to me. I motioned to him and he came forward. 'Sir, I understand that the safety of the ship depends on the closing of -the bulkhead next to bunker No. 9,' he said. T nodded affirmatively. 'VVith your permission, sir,' said the young man, 'T would like to try to close the bulkheadf I turned to Gfficer Campbell: 'Mn Campbell, you have heard this request. Vifhat do you think of it?' 'It can't be done,' he answered. 'The heat is so terrific that a man could not get to the bulkhead, much less close it. To try would be noth- ing less than suicide' A 'But if T do not succeedf said the seaman, 'there is no harm done, for I have no one dependent upon me. At least give me the opportunity to try to save the ship. That is better than abandoning her without trying' I decided to let the young fellow try, so gave orders that he was to be given every assistance in his dangerous undertaking. He tied a rope around his waist and told the men to pull him out when he gave the signal by jerking the rope. He then took a wet towel to put over his nose and climbed down the ladder into the hold. AnXiously T watched the indicator. Wfould he be able to remove the obstruction? Could he save my ship? A thousand hopes and fears gripped me.. .Then the indicator moved, then stopped, then slowly it moved to the pOs1t1on 'closed' I signaled to open the seacocks in bunkers Nos. 7 and 9. My ship was saved! The young hero was pulled out, but the deadly flames and fumes had doneftheir work. He never recovered consciousness. VVe entered the Golden Gate one week behind our schedule. The ship W!?S very low in the water, due to the water in the bunkers, but she was sa e.